Allen: Issues with Rondo did not make me leave Boston

Ray Allen tells reporters on Wednesday that his problems with Celtics teammate Rajon Rondo were not the reason he left Boston.

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Posted Jul. 11, 2012 @ 5:38 pm

MIAMI — Speaking for the first time as a member of the Miami Heat, Ray Allen told reporters on Wednesday that his problems with former teammate Rajon Rondo were not the reason he left Boston for Miami.

“I can’t say that it factored in my decision,” Allen said. “As teammates, we were brothers. ... There’s differences. We all have differences. Paul eats Corn Flakes. I might not like Corn Flakes. That’s just part of kind of who we are as individuals.”

Allen also denied that the prospect of coming off the bench next season was a problem; in fact, he expressed no discomfort about the fact that his role in Miami is yet to be totally determined.

“Whatever’s going to be best for me in this situation is going to figure itself out,” Allen said, flanked by Heat president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra. “This team won a championship without me. I’m not going to come in and expect for coach to cater to who I am and what I do. I’ve got to make that work on the floor with my new teammates.”

So why did he go? Maybe because Allen did not feel that the Celtics did all they could to keep him wearing green.

While head coach Doc Rivers, president Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck have all said that bringing Allen back for another season was a priority, Allen said that he did not necessarily feel like one.

“When Kevin [Garnett] signed, I was excited for him,” he said. “He signed a three-year deal and I expected to be somewhere along the same. Then they went in another direction and started to sign their other free agents.”

In the days before news broke that Allen was jumping to the Heat, the Celtics agreed to sign veteran Jason Terry — a veteran shooting guard who has been highly successful as a sixth man — away from the Dallas Mavericks. They also re-signed Brandon Bass and closed in on a deal with Jeff Green.

Boston was willing to offer Allen twice as much money per year — $12 million over two years, compared to the $3 million a year for three years he’ll make in Miami. Nonetheless, Allen found himself drawn to the Heat.

“You come into the summer and you don’t know what potentially can happen,” Allen said. “And you take the process a step at a time, try to figure out what's best for you and your family. And here I sit.”

Allen said that Rivers and Ainge were disappointed by his decision. Allen said he reached out to Garnett and Paul Pierce — he said he never spoke with Rondo after the season — when he began leaning toward Miami, telling Garnett in a text message that the move was likely.

Garnett responded by saying that he was sure Ainge would do whatever it took to keep Allen in Boston.

“I was like, ‘We’ll see,’” Allen said.

Days later, Allen was signing in Miami.

His departure leaves Boston with potential depth issues in the backcourt. Despite the addition of Terry, the Celtics are likely to begin the season without Avery Bradley, the projected starter at shooting guard. Bradley had surgery on Tuesday to stabilize his right shoulder, just a month and a half after a different procedure on his left shoulder.

Allen was introduced to the Miami media along with another major free-agent acquisition, Rashard Lewis. The signings give the NBA champions a pair of veterans who bring experience and versatility to a lineup already featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Allen will wear No. 34 with the Heat, which was his uniform number for most of his career before he came to Boston and switched to No. 20 in deference to Paul Pierce.

Lewis has already thought plenty about what it could mean to share the court with James, Wade, Bosh and Allen. In short, he knows defenses could be a bit confounded.

“You’ve got to double-team LeBron. You have to double-team Dwyane Wade. You’ve got to double-team Chris Bosh. And then you think they’re going to leave Ray Allen open?” Lewis said. “They’ve got to leave somebody open. So I have to go shoot a million jumpers tonight and be ready to knock them down.”

Spoelstra simply raved about Allen.

“There’s only a handful of players, really, in this league that absolutely strike fear into their opponent. And Ray is one of those players,” Spoelstra said.

Allen and Lewis were Seattle teammates for five seasons, from 2003 through 2007 — and both figure to fit perfectly into Miami’s plan to surround James, Wade and Bosh with even more shooters who can stretch defenses.

Allen’s 2,718 made 3-pointers are the most in NBA history, and Lewis ranks fifth among active players with 1,690 makes from beyond the arc.

“I look back at all our time spent in Boston. We had a lot of disappointments, but we shared a lot of thrills, and a lot of that’s off the court,” Allen said. “It is sad to me that I’m not going to be with those guys anymore. But I look forward to what we can do here.”

Later, he said that he did not consider the Celtics to be his new rivals.